By Tom: Many writers – Stephen King springs to mind – talk about their craft as a kind of compulsion. Writing is something they need to do, that they burn to do, and that helps them feel sane and grounded in a sometimes difficult world. But even those souls who are blessed/cursed by this drive […]
You’ve finished your first draft. Now what?
By Teika: What the first draft of your manuscript looks like will very much depend on the kind of writer you are and the progress you’ve made in your writing career. The more experienced a writer you are, the chances are that each new first draft will require far less editing and be much closer […]
The unbearable expectations of the first line
By Tom: Last night I dreamt I went to Manderlay again. Last night, I tried for the hundredth time to craft the perfect first sentence. Do you know what I ended up with? I ended up with: “Master Bascombe?” That took me an hour to settle on. I’m not sure it will be making any […]
The value of fantasy
By Tom: I take the first coffee of the day up to my attic room, and settle into the chair that perfectly fits my body. For a moment, I gaze through the picture window at the woods in the distance, beyond the meadows and green hills. I open the laptop, set down my coffee, and […]
Coping with self-doubt during saggy middles
By Tom: Urgh. I can’t write for shit. And I’m bored of this character. Maybe I should just abandon this lost cause and start on the new idea that’s been keeping me up for the last few nights. That book could really be something; if only I were talented enough to write it. Self-doubt is […]
How to find the time to write when you don’t have any time
By Tom: One of the realities of the writing life is that not many people can succeed in living entirely off the proceeds of their words. The majority of writers – even some very successful ones – make a significant amount of their income from other activities such as teaching, or public speaking, or criticism, or various […]